Blindspot: Can Jane trust Roman?

Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Wednesday's episode of Blindspot. Read at your own risk!

Jane Doe may have a new ally on Blindspot.

Worried that Jane was no longer allied with Sandstorm, Shepherd tasked her with assassinating an asset who had gone rogue. Jane failed the test, forcing Roman to kill the asset. However, Roman declined to tell Shepherd the truth, covering for his sister. Why? EW turned to Mitchell to find out:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why do you think Roman didn't tell Shepherd the truth that Jane failed the test?
LUKE MITCHELL: Because he's scared of what Shepherd might do if she knew that Jane isn't Remi, or hasn't yet found her way back to being Remi. He knows that Shepherd is suspicious. He wants to believe that his sister is still his sister and hasn't changed. He would do anything for her, even if that means killing someone and lying to his mother.

Do you think Roman actually trusts Jane?
Absolutely. He has to trust her. He has to believe that she is still who he knows that she is. He doesn't know who Jane is. This is a foreign person. It's so interesting because they have such rich history, and it's almost like they're getting to know each other again. It's an interesting thing to play with.

How will Roman covering for Jane change the relationship between the pair?
Hopefully it will go somewhere toward gaining trust again and lead to that relationship she's been told that they have and they've had. She's having these memories. She knows that he's her brother, but they've got a long way to go to reconnecting and figuring out what that relationship is now. Roman hopes that he will help her find her way back to Remi.

He threatens to find her rabbit and make him bleed. Is he referring to Weller?
How crazy is that? [Laughs.] I think you can read into that what you want. I think what that is about — or certainly how I played it — is he's not threatening any one person. The rabbit is a metaphor for weakness. It certainly was for Roman in the story. He couldn't do it. It was such a representation of who he is, essentially, underneath all that rage and scar tissue. I think that was a moment of Roman proving to himself and proving to Jane that he's stronger than he's ever been before, and he's not kidding around. Even though he loves her and she's his sister, he needs to let her know that things are really serious. The thing is, with these two, Jane has always been No. 1, and Roman has always been No. 2. He's always had to try and prove himself. He's never been good enough and certainly never been good enough in the eyes of Shepherd, at least by comparison to Jane. This is a moment where he's stepping up and also trying to convince himself that he's good enough to do whatever is necessary to get Remi back.

How does that uncertainty start to affect him? Does that make him spiral further or become more unhinged as he's unsure of where Remi's loyalty lies?
I don't know about more unhinged. He's pretty unhinged as it is. That's definitely a driving force for him. He'll fall back on: "We erased her memory, we did this to her. If we hadn't of done that, then we wouldn't be in this predicament. But we did do this." By "we," he's really saying Shepherd, because he didn't have a say in it. That's his fall back for anytime that his doubt gets a little too much. "Put yourself in her shoes; of course it's not going to be instantaneous and she's going to come straight back to us. She's got to figure a lot of things out."

Is there a part of Roman that's jealous that Jane is a blank slate, that she isn't weighed down by their history like he is?
That's a great question. I don't know, to be honest. There's a lot going on for him. He probably hasn't had the time to think along those lines yet. He lives at such a high intensity all the time. Obviously being part of an anti-government organization, there's not too much relaxation time to really pause and reflect on his childhood, where he came from, and the life that he's living. I don't think there's too much time for regret or hoping for a different life right now. He's just caught up in what's going on.

Do you think we can trust Shepherd? Or do you suspect she is using Roman and Jane?
It's something that you really feel. I love that it's part of the family dynamic. I love that Jane and Roman are blood relatives, but Shepherd is not. Shepherd was their savior, who rescued them from this orphanage, raised them, and nurtured them. She is their mother, so it's an interesting relationship, because she's also the leader of an anti-government group who is determined to achieve their goal. The interesting thing is exploring how big that divide between Roman and Shepherd gets. Roman is more and more looking out for Jane, and Shepherd is hard and fast that we must achieve success in our mission.

What do you think Roman ultimately wants?
He really wants to be loved. He's just constantly looking for validation. He just wants a hug. [Laughs.] He wants to know that everything is going to be all right, essentially. Put all this s--- aside, he's a guy who has not got a lot of love in his life. The main representation of love is his sister, and his sister is struggling to remember who he is. That's a sticking point. Then, the other representation of love is this woman who brought them up but treats him like he's not good enough. It sounds sappy, but deep down, he's just a little kid who wants a big hug.

Do you think there's any chance of redemption for Roman? Do you think he could be turned?
I'd like to believe there's a chance of redemption for anyone. He's done some pretty bad things, but it's the old adage of walking a mile in someone's shoes. I dare anyone to put Roman's shoes on and try to act differently. It'll be very interesting to see what happens moving forward.

Blindspot airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.